Meet Zahra – Founder

After years of teaching preschool, Zahra was so excited when she had a child of her own. She was determined to give her son the best start, right from birth. But she quickly realized that even years of experience as a Montessori teacher had not prepared her. She struggled to balance being a new mom with trying to prepare a stimulating environment and keep up with her baby’s development at every turn. While teaching parent/baby classes in her neighborhood, she met many parents who understood the importance of the early years but felt confused about how to best support their baby’s development. She was not able to recommend a simple solution because it did not exist. So she set out to create one. 

Zahra is an Internationally certified Montessori teacher for children from birth to age 6. She holds a BA in Psychology and an MA in Education, both from Harvard University. She poured her education, experience, and a ton of love into creating products that bring a world-renowned, research-backed education into your home, all through the joy of play.

When our founder, Zahra Kassam was asked to share why education needs to begin from birth and the benefits of the Montessori method, we were all cheering for her from the sidelines.
Watch Zahra share these powerful insights.

We believe that every child holds a universe of potential 

And that unlocking that potential begins on day one. 

We know that early childhood brain development has lifelong impact

About 85% of a child’s brain is developed by age 3 making those first few years pre-school crucial to setting the stage for social, emotional and educational success. 

 

We understand that early childhood experiences are crucial for brain development

Children are born ready to learn. They depend on parents and caregivers to help them start developing the right skills to become independent and lead healthy and successful lives. Toys are the tools critical to creating experiences that unlock potential and set the stage for a lifelong love of learning. Monti Kids toys are designed to meet your child’s developmental milestones and to provide just the right amount of challenge, without being over stimulating.

We believe in taking good care of this planet that our children are going to need

Which is why we use only FSC-certified, sustainably harvested hard woods for our toys and use only non-toxic, natural stains and finishes that are safe for babies and gentle on the planet.

We believe in being good partners to our suppliers, our associates and our communities

We only work with factories and suppliers that are able to meet our highest code of conduct standards, ensuring workers are treated fairly and paid a fair wage.

We believe Dr. Maria Montessori was right

We know the benefits of the Montessori approach to learning and are passionate about making these principals and curriculum accessible to children everywhere.Â